Magic Jukebox Time: Walkin'

Here's another Magic Jukebox shuffled playlist... the weather's fine for walking! And I don't mind when the MJ plays three Ellington songs in a row...

1. William Bell - Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye
2. Shirelles - Ooh Poo Pah Doo
3. Billie Holiday - I'm Gonna Lock My Heart (and Throw Away the Key)
4. Bad Brains - F.V.K. 
5. Muffins - Queenside [remix]
6. Jelly Roll Morton - My Little Dixie Home
7. Fletcher Henderson - T.N.T.
8. Dan the Automator - Punjabis, Pimps, and Players
9. Elvis Presley - The Thrill of Your Love
10. Ornette Coleman & Prime Time - Spelling the Alphabet
11. Marvin Gaye - Together We Stand (Divided We Fall)
12. Tim Gane & Sean O'Hagan - La Vie d'Artiste (Generique)
13. Tad Thaddock - Checking In
14. Beatles - It's All Too Much
15. Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings - Making Up and Breaking Up
16. Bruce Springsteen - Tenth Avenue Freeze Out
17. Sun Ra - Of Drastic Measures
18. Platters - With This Ring
19. Jelly Roll Morton - Salty Dog
20. Lewis Taylor - Please Help Me if You Can
21. Charlie Parker - Indiana/Donna Lee (live)
22. Explorers Club - Summer Air
23. Alvin Robinson - Down Home Girl
24. Dion & the Belmonts - A Teenager in Love
25. Frank Zappa - Eat That Question
26. Sun Ra - Under the Spell of Love
27. Sun Ra - Stompy Jones
28. Beatles Remixers Group - All Things Must Pass
29. Beatles - Hold Me Tight
30. Beatles - All My Loving (live Vancouver)
31. Chords - Sh-Boom
32. Stock, Hauden, & Walkman - Index
33. Charlie Parker - Fine and Dandy (live Sweden)
34. Kid Koala - Space Cadet 2
35. Cold Blood - Too Many People
36. John Zorn & the Dreamers - Nekashim
37. Duke Ellington - Louisiana
38. Beatles - One After 909
39. Duke Ellington - The Swingers Get the Blues, Too
40. Duke Ellington - Way Low
41. Duke Ellington - I'm So in Love with You
42. Prince - Good Man
43. Johnnie Lee Willis - Square Dance Boogie
44. Deerhoof - Fresh Born
45. Sun Ra - I'll Get By
46. Sun Ra - Exotic Two
47. Prince - Strange Way
48. Mary Halvorson Quartet - Jesodoth
49. Brand X - Euthanasia Waltz
50. Jeff Byrd - Song No. 1
51. James Brown - Don't Be a Dropout
52. Deerhoof - Itchy P-Pads
53. Duke Ellington - Isfahan
54. Led Zeppelin - Black Mountain Side
55. Patsy Cline - I'll Sail My Ship Alone
56. Anthony Braxton - Comp. 57
57. Captain Beefheart - Fallin' Ditch
58. Sun Ra - Spontaneous Simplicity
59. Stephen Stills - Old Times Good Times
60. Jimi Hendrix - Burning of the Midnight Lamp (BBC)
61. Guided By Voices - Wished I Was a Giant
62. Dan Weiss - Cry Box
63. Jimi Hendrix - Hey Joe (live Berkeley)
64. David Bowie - Red Money
65. Duke Ellington - East St. Louis Toodle-O
66. Muddy Waters - Country Boy
67. Remains - Don't Look Back
68. Baby Washington - I'll Never Be Over You
69. Beatles - This Boy (live Paris)
70. Buffalo Springfield - Bluebird
71. Stevie Wonder - Summer Soft
72. Animal Collective - Today's Supernatural
73. Billie Holiday - A Sunbonnet Blue (and a Yellow Straw Hat)
74. Pere Ubu - Chinese Radiation
75. Knight Brothers - Temptation 'Bout to Get Me
76. Parliament - Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight
77. Booker T. & the MGs - Ain't That Peculiar
78. Led Zeppelin - Sick Again (live)
79. Robert Wyatt - Instant Pussy (live)
80. Beatles - Dream Baby (BBC)
81. Robert Wyatt - Rangers in the Night
82. Sun Ra - The Antique Blacks
83. Beatles - I Just Don't Understand (live Stowe School)
84. Blackman -  No Place to Go
85. Henry Cow - Halsteren: Extension 2
86 .Johnny Hodges - The Rabbit's Jump
87. Deerhoof - Tuning a Stray
88. RAIC - Synnecrosis
89. Doris Duke - I Can't Do Without You
90. Sun Ra - Cosmic Machine
91. High Llamas - Bramble Black
92. Eddie Purrell - The Spoiler
93. Leon Ware - I Wanna Be Where You Are
94. Alton Ellis - Wide Awake in a Dream
95. Captain Beefheart - One Rose That I Mean
96. Frank Zappa - The Birth of Captain Beefheart
97. Husker Du - Monday Will Never Be the Same
98. Olu Dara - Your Lips
99. Sun Ra - Immortal Being
100. Sonic Youth - Karen Revisited
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-05-31

Henry Now: nice to hear these old timers crank it... starting another run of live Art Ensemble, this time in 1978 with Lester Bowie... I am surprised at how much I still love Earth Wind and Fire... as long as they stay away from the guitar-based power ballads... 

Playlist 2026-06-01:

*[Ahmed]: Play Monk (disc 2)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Bap-Tizum (side 2)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1978-03-08 NYC (CDR) (disc 1)
*Beach Boys: Pet Sounds (DSS) (side 2)
*Paul Bley: Ramblin'
*Brand X: Moroccan Roll (side 2)
*Anthony Braxton: 3 Compositions of New Jazz (side 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Nine Compositions (DVD) 2003 "Comp. 328 (12tet)" "Comp. 72H and 74E (Trio)" 
*Anthony Braxton Large Ensemble: 2008-12-03 Wesleyan (CDR) "Comp. 100/134/91"
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (New Haven) 2014 (disc 4)
*Tina Brooks: True Blue
*Chicago: Chicago (side 2)
*John Coltrane: Concert in Japan (side 3)
*Miles Davis: Bitches Brew (UltraDisc One-Step) (side 1)
*Richard Dawson: The Ruby Cord
*Deerhoof: Actually, You Can
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S02 E52: Young and Old
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S02 E53: Days of the Week
*Earth Wind & Fire: Gratitude (side 2)
*Earth Wind & Fire: I Am (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington: Reflections in Ellington (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: 1938 (side 4)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: 1899-1974 (side 3)
*Flying Sutra with Ayumi Ishito: Out Beyond Orbit
*Funkadelic: Cosmic Slop
*Funkadelic: Tales of Kidd Funkadelic
*Grateful Dead: Wake Up to Find Out (disc 2, 3) "Dark Star," "Space > Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1990-07-12 Washington DC (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1990-09-20 NYC (CDR) "Space > Dark Star > Playing Reprise > Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1990-10-20 Berlin (CDR) "Dark Star, Space > Dark Star"
*Hatfield and the North: The Rotters' Club (50th Anniversary Ed.) (sides 1, 2)
*Joe Henderson: Consonance: Live at the Jazz Showcase (disc 1)
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland (side 3)
*Henry Now: Then Again (side 1)
*Charles Ives: Symphonies No. 1 & 4 (Michael Tilson Thomas/Chicago Symphony)
*King Crimson: Islands (40th Anniversary Ed.) (disc 1)
*King Crimson: The Young Persons' Guide to King Crimson (side 4)
*Harry Miller: BBC Sessions, 1976-1977 (CDR)
*Roscoe Mitchell/Tyshawn Sorey: 2013-10-20 North Macedonia (CDR)
*National Health: Of Queues and Cures (sides 1, 2)
*Rova/Nels Cline Singers: The Celestial Septet
*Rufus featuring Chaka Khan: Ask Rufus
*Soft Machine: Six (side 2)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Thunder of the Gods (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Crystal Spears (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra: Lanquidity (45rpm version) (sides 3, 4)
*Henry Threadgill Zooid: In for a Penny, In for a Pound (disc 1) "Ceroepic (For Drums and Percussion)"
*Justin Timberlake: Tiny Desk Concert
*Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life (disc 1)
*XTC: Live Boots: Emerald City, Cherry Hill, New Jersey 17th April 1981 (side 1)
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (side 4)
*John Zorn/Brian Marsella Trio: Alea Iacta Est

Reading List, Week of 2026-05-31

Reading List 2026-06-01:

*Christgau, Robert. Is It Still Good to Ya? Fifty Years of Rock Criticism, 1967-2017 (started)
*Boyd, Brian. Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery (finished)
*Clowes, Daniel. The Complete Eightball: Issues 1-18 (finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Homer. The Odyssey (transl. Emily Wilson) (reread/in progress)
*Rothfuss, Patrick. The Wise Man's Fear (reread/in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-05-24

 

Always nice to return to the lethargic majesty of Robert Wyatt's masterpiece.... with the always important underpinning of two great bassists, Richard Sinclair and Hugh Hopper... My original vinyl of Tales from Topographic Oceans sounds so much better than the Steven Wilson remix... that doesn't take away from the fun in hearing different details in the remix, though... I need to check out Vol. 1 of Ayumi Ishito's Roboquarians, because Vol. 2 is fantastic... 

Playlist 2026-05-25:

*[Ahmed]: Play Monk (disc 1)
*Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion
*Ayumi Ishito: Roboquarians, Vol. 2
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (England) 1985 (disc 5)
*Bruford: Gradually Going Tornado (side 1)
*Caravan: In the Land of Grey and Pink (side 1)
*Nels Cline Singers: The Giant Pin
*Nels Cline Singers: Macroscope
*John Coltrane: Live Trane: The European Tours (disc 1)
*Richard Dawson: The Ruby Cord
*Bob Dylan: Blood on the Tracks
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Masterpieces by Ellington (side 3)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Ellington at Newport (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: Dance Date Air Force U.S.A. March 1958 (side 1)
*Emerson Lake and Palmer: Emerson Lake & Palmer
*Entropic Hop: Entropic Hop
*Genesis: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (side 3)
*Goal Weight: Keep Telling Yourself That
*Grateful Dead: 1978-04-11 Atlanta (CDR) (discs 2, 3)
*Grateful Dead: Formerly the Warlocks (disc 5) "Dark Star," "Space"
*Grateful Dead: 1989-10-16 East Rutherford NJ (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1989-10-26 Miami (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1989-12-31 Oakland CA (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Kip Hanrahan: 1991 Stuttgart (CDR)
*Happy the Man: Happy the Man (sides 1, 2)
*Joe Henderson: The State of the Tenor: Live at the Village Vanguard, Vol. 1 (side 2)
*Hyper Gal: After Image
*Lazro/Léandre/Lovens: For Baritone Sax, Double Bass & Drumset
*Matching Mole: Matching Mole (side 1)
*Merzbow/Mats Gustafsson/Balázs Pándi: Cuts Cut
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 10)
*New Ting: 2026-05-11 "Battering Wham" (wav)
*Nico: 1980-09-26 Squat Theater, NYC (CDR)
*OOIOO: The Horizon Spiral
*Jimmy Reed: Mr. Luck: The Complete Vee-Jay Singles (disc 3)
*Tomeka Reid Quartet: 3+3 (side 2)
*Residents: Eskimo (side 2)
*David Sancious: Forest of Feelings (side 2)
*Michael Sarian: The Sea, the Space, and Egypt, Vol. 1
*Sun Ra and His Inter-Galactic Research Arkestra: Nuits de la Fondation Maeght (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Crystal Spears (side 1)
*Sun Ra: Strange Celestial Road (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-29 Detroit (CDR) (disc 1)
*Test: Ecstatic Peace 
*Various artists: Bollywood Movie Title Music
*Various artists: Telugu Connection (CDR)
*Various artists: WSAM: Dark Star and Behind (CDR compilation)
*Robert Wyatt: Rock Bottom (sides 1, 2)
*XTC: Apple Venus, Vol. 1
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (sides 2, 4)
*Yes: Going for the One 

Reading List, Week of 2026-05-24

Reading List 2026-05-25:

*Clowes, Daniel. The Complete Eightball: Issues 1-18 (started)
*Homer. The Odyssey (transl. Emily Wilson) (reread/started)
*Pullman, Philip. Dæmon Voices: On Stories and Storytelling (finished)
*Boyd, Brian. Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery (in progress)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Rothfuss, Patrick. The Wise Man's Fear (reread/in progress)

 

Playlist, Week of 2026-05-17

 

Some wonderful music coming out of Daniel Carter's label 577 Records... I am particularly intrigued by the playing of Ayumi Ishito... In the land of "Dark Star," I am now firmly in the age of the return of double drums, and so far they just aren't working for me... they're just plodding and jaunty... Nicole Mitchell's Arc of O starts off with an Ascension-level bang... great stuff... 

Playlist 2026-05-18:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1977-07-30 NYC (CDR) (disc 2)
*Ayumi Ishito: Ayumi Ishito and the Spacemen, Vol. 2
*Beatles: With the Beatles (2009 stereo remaster) (sides 1, 2)
*Anthony Braxton: 4 (Ensemble) Compositions 1992 "Comp. 100"
*James Brown: In the Jungle Groove
*Nels Cline Singers: Draw Breath
*Miles Davis: The Columbia Years 1955-1985 (disc 3)
*Egg: The Metronomical Society
*Duke Ellington: The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (disc 10)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Vol. 13 (disc 1)
*Grateful Dead: 1973-06-10 Washington DC (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1979-01-20 Buffalo NY (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1981-12-31 Oakland CA (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1984-07-13 Berkeley CA (CDR) "Dark Star"
*King Crimson: In the Wake of Poseidon (40th Anniversary Ed.) (2010 stereo mix)
*Leroy Jenkins: Space Minds, New Worlds, Survival Of America
*Nicole Mitchell & an_ARCHE NewMusic Ensemble: Arc Of O: For Improvisers, Chamber Orchestra & Electronics
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 9)
*New Ting: 2022-06-07 "Undergrowth" (wav)
*Playfield: Playfield, Vol. 2
*Playfield: Stepping Out, Vol. 1
*Wadada Leo Smith/Roscoe Mitchell Creative Orchestra: 1979-06-03 Moers "track 3"
*Tyshawn Sorey: Pillars (disc 3)
*Sun Ra: Crystal Spears (Remastered)
*Sun Ra & His Arkestra: The Cymbals​/​Symbols Sessions (New York City 1973) (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-28 Detroit (CDR) (disc 6)
*Tool: Undertow
*Lennie Tristano: Lennie Tristano
*Umlaut Big Band: Mary's Ideas (disc 1)
*UYA: 1994-12-13 Captain Cancre-Newt (wav)
*UYA: 1995-01-22 Spreading Love All Over the Wall (wav)
*Various artists: Ethiopiques 25: 1971-1975 Modern Roots
*Various artists: Variations #1: Transition (Jon Leidecker) (CDR)
*White Noise: An Electric Storm
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (side 1)

Reading List, Week of 2026-05-17

Reading List 2026-05-18:

*Pullman, Philip. Dæmon Voices: On Stories and Storytelling (started)
*Rothfuss, Patrick. The Wise Man's Fear (reread/started)
*Rothfuss, Patrick. The Name of the Wind (reread/finished)
*Sorrentino, Gilbert. Splendide-Hôtel (reread/finished)
*Boyd, Brian. Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery (in progress)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-05-10

Nice playing from Daniel Barbiero on Moon in Winter... It's been while since I revisited Quartet (New Haven) 2014... it's great hearing Nels Cline and Greg Saunier in the context of Braxton... I'd love a reprise, Mr. Braxton... John Gilmore shines like a golden beacon of sound on Dizzy Reece's From In to Out... Still working my way through the remarkable run of George Lewis replacing Lester Bowie in the Art Ensemble of Chicago at Storyville in 1977... 

Playlist 2026-05-11:

*Rashied Ali Quartet: New Directions in Modern Music (side 1)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1977-07-30 NYC (CDR) (disc 1)
*Ayumi Ishito: Ayumi Ishito and the Spacemen, Vol. 1
*Béla Bartók: 6 String Quartets (Emerson String Quartet) (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (England) 1985 (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (New Haven) 2014 (disc 1)
*Will Bryce/Sam Byrd/Jimmy Ghaphery: 2026-05-02 RVA (CDR)
*Daniel Carter: Open Question, Vol. 1
*Andrea Centazzo: Moon in Winter
*Nels Cline: Dirty Baby (disc 2)
*Ornette Coleman: Beauty Is a Rare Thing: The Complete Atlantic Recordings (disc 3)
*John Coltrane/Don Cherry: The Avant-Garde
*Deerhoof: Miracle-Level
*Deerhoof: Deerhoof and the Sound Sanctuary
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S02 E54: California
*Duke Ellington: Midnight in Paris
*Duke Ellington and Count Basie: First Time! The Count Meets the Duke
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Latin American Suite
*Entropic Hop: Live at Downtown Music Gallery
*Grateful Dead: 1974-10-18 Winterland, SF (CDR) "Seastones Jam > Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: The Closing Of Winterland: December 31, 1978 (disc 4) "Dark Star > The Other One > Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1979-01-10 Nassau NY (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Jefferson Pilot: Spirit of '77
*Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra/Small Unit: Spectral Fiction
*Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66: Crystal Illusions
*New Ting: 2026-05-04 "Watering Can Holler"
*Angelika Niescier: Chicago Tapes
*OOIOO: The Horizon Spiral
*Eddie Prévost et al.: The Secret Handshake With Danger, Vol. 2
*Dizzy Reece: From In to Out
*Santana: Caravanserai
*Santana: Welcome
*Archie Shepp: The Magic of Ju-Ju (side 1)
*Tyshawn Sorey: Alloy "Movement"
*Sparks: Whomp That Sucker (side 1)
*Sun Ra: Jazz by Sun Ra, Vol. 1 [Sun Song]
*Sun Ra & His Arkestra: The Cymbals​/​Symbols Sessions (New York City 1973) (disc 2)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-28 Detroit (CDR) (disc 5)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Saturn XIII (sides 1, 2)
*Cecil Taylor Orchestra of Two Continents: 1984-10-20 Rubigen, Switzerland (CDR) (disc 2)
*Various artists: Rockabilly (disc 1)
*Alex Ward Item 10: Volition (Live At Cafe Oto) "Volition"

Reading List, Week of 2026-05-10

Reading List 2026-05-11:

*Boyd, Brian. Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery (started)
*Rothfuss, Patrick. The Name of the Wind (reread/started)
*Sorrentino, Gilbert. Splendide-Hôtel (reread/started)
*King, Stephen, and Peter Straub. Black House (reread/finished)
*Wilmer, Valerie. As Serious as Your Life: The Story of the New Jazz (rev. ed.) (reread/finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-05-03

Still absorbing and getting new insights from Deerhoof's Miracle-Level and Ingrid Laubrock's Serpentines... Prog rocks gotten off: Passion Play and Tarkus... Overall I have preferred the 1974 "Dark Stars" to the 1973 ones... I am almost at the end of the fantastic run of Bill Kreutzmann-only versions... Slowly working my way through the epic Sun Ra Detroit run of December 1980...

Playlist 2026-05-04:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1977-07-29 NYC (CDR) (discs 2, 3)
*Béla Bartók: 6 String Quartets (Emerson String Quartet) (disc 1)
*Borderlands Trio: Asteroidea "Borderlands"
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (England) 1985 (disc 4)
*Nels Cline: Dirty Baby (disc 1)
*John Coltrane: Transition
*John Coltrane: First Meditations (For Quartet) (sides 1, 2)
*John Coltrane: A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle
*Miles Davis & Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings (disc 2)
*Miles Davis: The Columbia Years 1955-1985 (disc 1)
*Deerhoof: Miracle-Level (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (disc 9)
*Duke Ellington: Duke 56/62 Vol. 1 (sides 3, 4)
*Duke Ellington: The Private Collection: Vol. 10, Studio Sessions New York & Chicago 1965, 1966, 1971 "Harlem"
*Emerson Lake and Palmer: The Atlantic Years (disc 1) "Tarkus"
*Flying Sutra with Ayumi Ishito: Out Beyond Orbit
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 12 (1974-06-28 Boston) (disc 3) "Weather Report Suite > Jam> U.S. Blues"
*Grateful Dead: 1974-07-25 Chicago (CDR) (disc 2) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 7 (1974-09-10 London) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1978-04-11 Atlanta (CDR) (disc 1)
*Guru Guru: UFO
*Jimi Hendrix: Hendrix in the West
*Charles Ives: Symphonies No. 1 & 4 (Michael Tilson Thomas/Chicago Symphony)
*Jethro Tull: A Passion Play
*Kinks: The Journey: Part 2 (side 1)
*Steve Lacy/Andrea Centazzo: Tao
*Ingrid Laubrock: Serpentines
*Lightning Bolt: The Horizon Viral
*Allen Lowe: Jews and Roots: An Avant-Garde of Our Own (discs 7, 8)
*Charles Mingus: Mingus in Argentina: The Buenos Aires Concerts (disc 2)
*New Ting: 2025-10-20 "Tethered Dream" (wav)
*OOIOO: The Horizon Spiral
*Keith Rowe/John Tilbury: E.E. Tension and Circumstance
*Todd Rundgren: Healing
*Fie Schouten: Open Space
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Supersonic Jazz (21st Century Expanded Ed.) (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Sound of Joy
*Sun Ra: The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-28 Detroit (CDR) (discs 3, 4)
*Cecil Taylor Big Band: 1995-07-03 NYC (CDR) (disc 1) track 1
*UYA: 1994-12-07 Frosty the Newt
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Ed.) (discs 11, 12)

Reading List, Week of 2026-05-03

Reading List 2026-05-04:

*King, Stephen, and Peter Straub. Black House (reread/started)
*King, Stephen, and Peter Straub. The Talisman (reread/finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Munday, Anthony et al. Sir Thomas More (Arden Shakespeare 3rd series, ed. John Jowett) (in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-04-26

Tom Rainey rocks out on Downpour... Paul Gonsalves nails it again and again on Featuring Paul Gonsalves... XTC tries too hard on White Music... Cecil Taylor and Anthony Braxton together: exquisite perfection... Al Foster and Michael Henderson: deep funk on "Mtume"... Craig Taborn: sublime on Bells for the South Side... lots to be thankful for...

Playlist 2026-04-27:

*[Ahmed]: Sama'a [Audition] (side 1)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1977-07-28 NYC (CDR) (disc 3)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1977-07-29 NYC (CDR) (disc 1)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: Live in Berlin (disc 2)
*Beach Boys: The Smile Sessions (sides 1, 2)
*Daniel Carter: Makeshift Spirituals, Vol. 1
*Nels Cline Singers: Initiate (disc 2)
*Nels Cline: Downpour "Downpour 2"
*John Coltrane: Evenings at the Village Gate (side 2)
*Miles Davis Quintet: Live [1960-04-09 Scheveningen] (side 2)
*Miles Davis: The Columbia Years 1955-1985 (disc 2)
*Miles Davis: The Complete On the Corner Sessions (disc 5) "Mtume"
*Richard Dawson: The Ruby Cord
*Bill Dixon: Bill Dixon in Italy, Vol. 2 (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (disc 8)
*Duke Ellington: Money Jungle
*Duke Ellington/John Coltrane: Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Featuring Paul Gonsalves (sides 1, 2)
*Entropic Hop: Live at Downtown Music Gallery "Action Prevails Where Words Will Fail"
*Flying Sutra with Ayumi Ishito: Out Beyond Orbit
*Grateful Dead: 1972-06-16 Hatford CT (CDR) "The Other One"
*Grateful Dead: 1974-05-14 Missoula MT (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1978-04-10 Atlanta (CDR) (disc 3)
*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks Vol. 34 (1974-06-03 Miami) (disc 3) "Dark Star Jam > Spanish Jam > U.S. Blues"
*Heldon: Third ("It's Always Rock'n'Roll") (disc 2)
*Charles Ives: Symphonies No. 2 & 3/Central Park in the Dark (Leonard Bernstein)
*Joseph Jarman: As If It Were the Seasons (side 2)
*Allen Lowe: Jews and Roots: An Avant-Garde of Our Own (disc 6)
*Magda Mayas' Filamental: Murmur
*Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66: Equinox
*Roscoe Mitchell: Bells for the South Side (disc 2) "Red Moon in the Sky/Odwalla"
*Thelonious Monk: Brilliant Corners
*New Order: Substance
*Wadada Leo Smith: Najwa "Ornette Coleman´s Harmolodic Sonic Hierographic Forms: A Resonance Change In The Millennium"
*Soft Machine: Seven
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Other Planes of There (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Omniverse (side 1)
*Craig Taborn: Dream Archives
*Cecil Taylor Quartet featuring Anthony Braxton: 2007-06-08 London (CDR)
*Pat Thomas & XT: Strata, Act (Joy Contemporary)* (disc 2)
*Phil Upchurch Guitar Sound: Feeling Blue
*UYA: 1994-11-17 Keep Saying this (wav)
*UYA: 1994-12-01 Bend, Monster (wav)
*Various artists: Nigeria Soul Fever (disc 1)
*Weather Report: Live and Unreleased (disc 2)
*XTC: White Music
*XTC: Transistor Blast: The Best of the BBC Sessions (disc 4) 

Reading List, Week of 2026-04-26

Reading List 2026-04-27:

*King, Stephen, and Peter Straub. The Talisman (reread/started)
*Munday, Anthony et al. Sir Thomas More (Arden Shakespeare 3rd series, ed. John Jowett) (started)
*DuBois, Gaylord et al. Brothers of the Spear, Vol. 1 (finished)
*Hummer, T. R. The Infinity Sessions: Poems (finished)
*Nabokov, Vladimir. Pale Fire (reread/finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
 

Cecil Taylor on Artistry and Time

...I mean the first time I saw Carmen Amaya dance, in 1955, it was as though everything stopped for me, I mean everything stopped. When you see that. Now that, to me, is the highest kind of compliment that can be paid to another artist, to make somebody else lose all sense of time, all sense of their own existence outside, like the perception of all their energies on that figure. That to me is the greatest. (Cecil Taylor, interview with Bill Smith, 1974-09-07)

This is absolutely what it was like for me every time I saw Cecil Taylor live. (And that Bill Smith interview is one of the best I've read with Mr. Taylor.)

 

Playlist, Week of 2026-04-19

 

I have been on a bit of a Nels Cline kick lately... he's such a versatile guitarist... I am particularly drawn to his skronky, atonal noise playing, like on the live disc of Initiate... good stuff...

Playlist 2026-04-20:

*Amon Duul II: Yeti
*Art Ensemble: 1967/68 (disc 3) "Number 1"
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium E (disc 1) "Act 1, Part 1"
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium X (disc 8)
*Nels Cline: The Inkling
*Nels Cline: Downpour
*Nels Cline Singers: Initiate (disc 1)
*Walt Dickerson Quartet: Impressions of A Patch of Blue
*Duke Ellington: The Indispensable Duke Ellington and the Small Groups (Vol. 9/10) 1940-1946 (side 2)
*Farmers By Nature: Love and Ghosts (disc 1) "Love and Ghosts"
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 11 (1972-09-27 Jersey City, NJ) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-12-18 Tampa FL (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1974-02-24 Winterland SF (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Allen Lowe: Jews and Roots: An Avant-Garde of Our Own (disc 5)
*Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Orchestra: Out to Lunch
*Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Quintet: Hat and Beard
*Otomo Yoshihide Special Big Band: Stone Stone Stone
*Evan Parker ElectroAcoustic Septet: Seven "Seven-2"
*Sun Ra and His Solar-Myth Arkestra: The Solar​-​Myth Approach, Vols. 1 & 2 (discs 1, 2)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-27 Detroit (CDR) (disc 5)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-28 Detroit (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Pat Thomas & XT: Strata, Act (Joy Contemporary)* (discs 1, 3)
*UYA: 1994 (CDR compilation)
*UYA: 1994-11-01 Image of a Stale Jazz (wav)
*UYA: 1994-11-08 Newt-Dole Hole Merger (wav)
*Various artists: WSAM: Short Cuts I (cassette compilation) (side B)
*Weather Report: Live and Unreleased (disc 1)
*XTC: Drums and Wires (sides 1, 2) 

Reading List, Week of 2026-04-19

Reading List 2026-04-20:

*DuBois, Gaylord et al. Brothers of the Spear, Vol. 1 (started)
*Nabokov, Vladimir. Pale Fire (reread/started)
*Creepy Archives, Vol. 1 (ed. Shawna Gore) (finished)
*Green, Daniel. Gilbert Sorrentino: An Introduction (finished)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: "There Is a Heppy Lend--Fur, Fur Awa-a-ay": 1925-1926 (finished)
*King Edward III (Arden Shakespeare 3rd series, ed. Richard Proudfoot and Nicola Bennett) (reread/finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Hummer, T. R. The Infinity Sessions: Poems (in progress)
 

Record Collections and Time

...I realized something about record collections. I've long understood that what they represent, in aggregate, is time, and if you look at their spines you're looking at a visual marker of potential time, roughly five LPs per inch, at forty minutes per, so each linear foot equals nearly twenty-four hundred minutes or forty hours of continuous listening duration. When a  collector is young, what their collection represents to them is boundless possibility, the optimism of time unspent; as the years press on, the collection comes to suggest something different, the inevitability of the unfulfilled, potential time that will never be realized. I will not listen to the bulk of my records again. I console myself: there they are if I need them. (John Corbett, Microgroove: Forays into Other Music, 2015, p. 428)

I'm working on it... 

 

Playlist, Week of 2026-04-12

 

A solid listening week... I just can't... anything to avoid thinking about the news... 

Playlist 2026-04-13:

*Art Ensemble: 1967/68 (disc 4) "Number 2 - Quartet Version Take 7"
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1977-07-28 NYC (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium E (disc 3) "Act 3, Part 2"
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium X (disc 7)
*Clifford Brown/Max Roach: Clifford Brown and Max Roach
*Nels Cline: Destroy All Nels Cline
*Nels Cline Singers: Initiate (disc 2)
*Nels Cline Singers: Macroscope
*John Coltrane: The Classic Quartet: Complete Impulse! Studio Recordings (disc 1)
*John Coltrane: Ascension (Edition I/take 2) (side 1)
*John Coltrane: Transition
*Creative Construction Company: Creative Construction Company "Muhal (Part II) > Live Spiral"
*Richard Dawson: The Ruby Cord 
*Walt Dickerson Quartet: Impressions of A Patch of Blue
*Duke Ellington: Volume III (1937-03-18 Cotton Club, NYC) (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (disc 7)
*Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra [1941 Hollywood] (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Intimate Ellington
*Famous Actors from Out of Town: FA3574
*Farmers By Nature: Love and Ghosts (disc 1) "Seven Years In"
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 14 (1973-11-30 Boston) (disc 2) "Dark Star Jam"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-12-06 Cleveland (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1978-04-10 Atlanta (CDR) (disc 2)
*Hatfield and the North: The Rotters' Club (50th Anniversary Ed.) (side 3)
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: 1967-03-18 Hamburg (CDR)
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland (Deluxe Ed.) (disc 2)
*Impressions: Definitive Impressions
*Impressions: ABC Rarities
*Jefferson Pilot: Spirit of '77
*Allen Lowe: Jews and Roots: An Avant-Garde of Our Own (discs 3, 4)
*Roscoe Mitchell: Discussions (side 4)
*Ikue Mori: Hex Kitchen
*New Ting: 2026-04-06 Gnostic Time (wav)
*Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Quintet: Tails Out
*Rova/Nels Cline Singers: The Celestial Septet
*Alan Silva/Sound Visions Orchestra: Alan Silva & the Sound Visions Orchestra
*Wadada Leo Smith/Roscoe Mitchell Creative Orchestra: 1979-06-03 Moers "track 1"
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Supersonic Jazz (21st Century Expanded Ed.) (side 3)
*Sun Ra: Monorails & Satellites: Works for Solo Piano Vols. 1, 2, 3 (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: Uncharted Passages (side 2)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-27 Detroit (CDR) (disc 4)
*Pat Thomas & XT: Strata, Act (Joy Contemporary)* (discs 1, 2)
*Henry Threadgill Zooid: In for a Penny, In for a Pound (disc 2) "Unoepic (For Guitar)"
*UYA: 1994-10-20 Horizon Bunny (wav)
*Various artists: WSAM: Short Cuts I (cassette compilation) (side A)
*Weather Report: 1977-11-09 Norfolk (cassette) (sides A, B)
*Ben Webster: King of the Tenors
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Ed.) (disc 10)

Reading List, Week of 2026-04-12

Reading List 2026-04-13:

*Creepy Archives, Vol. 1 (ed. Shawna Gore) (started)
*Green, Daniel. Gilbert Sorrentino: An Introduction (started)
*Hummer, T. R. The Infinity Sessions: Poems (started)
*King Edward III (Arden Shakespeare 3rd series, ed. Richard Proudfoot and Nicola Bennett) (reread/started)
*Ferrante, Elena. The Story of the Lost Child (transl. Ann Goldstein) (started/finished)
*Ferrante, Elena. Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (transl. Ann Goldstein) (finished)
*Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream (Arden 3rd series, ed. Sukanta Chaudhuri) (reread/finished)
*Yoakum, Jim. The (Non-Inflatable) Monty Python TV Companion (finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: "There Is a Heppy Lend--Fur, Fur Awa-a-ay": 1925-1926 (in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-04-05

 

For some reason last night I was in the mood for some piano... I started off with a bit of Geneviève Foccroulle playing the solo piano work of Anthony Braxton, in this case "Composition 31," an early piece that's abstract and opaque and quite beautiful... Then I moved on to Cecil Taylor's first album, Jazz Advance... he lays it out right from the get-go with his Cubist reworking of Monk's "Bemsha Swing"... this whole album sounds fresh and invigorating, pretty amazing for the 21st century... imagine how radical it must have sounded in 1956!... Finally, I ended with Duke Ellington and Money Jungle... I've always felt kind of lukewarm about this album, but it's growing on me, and last night it blew me away... Duke's playing is nothing less than sublime, soaked in the blues but also forward-thinking and exploratory... so, all in all, a wonderful evening of creative piano music... 

Playlist 2026-04-06:

*George Adams/Don Pullen: Don't Lose Control (side 1)
*AMM: The Crypt - 12th June 1968 (disc 1)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1977-07-27 NYC (CDR) (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Kevin Ayers and the Whole World: Shooting at the Moon (side 2)
*Anthony Braxton Quartet: 1976-10-28 Graz, Austria (CDR) "Four Winds"
*Anthony Braxton: 4 (Ensemble) Compositions 1992 "Comp. 163"
*Anthony Braxton: Piano Music (1968-2000)/Performed by Genevieve Foccroulle (disc 3)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium X (disc 6)
*Dave Burrell: High Won - High Two (side 4)
*Nels Cline: Downpour
*Nels Cline Singers: The Giant Pin
*Nels Cline Singers: Initiate (disc 1)
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2014-12-30 Nashville (track 1)
*John Coltrane: 1965-04-02 Half Note, NYC (CDR) "Creation"
*Deerhoof: Noble and Godlike in Ruin
*Bob Dylan: Fallen Angels
*Bob Dylan/Various artists: Theme Time Radio Hour S02 E51: "Hello"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Such Sweet Thunder (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington: 1899-1974 (side 3)
*Duke Ellington: Money Jungle
*Duke Ellington: The Reprise Studio Recordings (disc 1)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Latin American Suite
*Grateful Dead: 1973-10-25 Madison WI (CDR)  "Dark Star > Mind Left Body Jam > Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: Listen to the River: St. Louis '71 '72 '73 (disc 20) "Dark Star" (1973-10-30)
*Grateful Dead: 1973-11-11 Winterland (CDR)  "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-11-21 Denver CO (CDR)  "Dark Star Jam"
*Grateful Dead: 1978-04-10 Atlanta (CDR) (disc 1)
*Impressions: Check Out Your Mind!
*Impressions: Times Have Changed
*Ingrid Laubrock: Serpentines
*Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey: Stir Crazy (CDR compilation) (disc 12)
*Allen Lowe: Jews and Roots: An Avant-Garde of Our Own (disc 2)
*Thelonious Monk: Brilliant Corners
*Roscoe Mitchell: Discussions (sides 1, 2, 3)
*Rascals: 1968-08-16 Hollywood Bowl (CDR)
*Max Roach: The Long March (side 1)
*Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Colossus
*Ches Smith: Clone Row
*Sparks: Sparks (side 1)
*Sparks: Balls (side 4)
*Sun Ra and His Astro-Ihnfinity Arkestra: Sun Embassy
*Sun Ra and His Astro Ihnfinity Arkestra: The Intergalactic Thing (side 4)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-27 Detroit (CDR) (disc 3)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: In the Orbit of Ra (side 4)
*Cecil Taylor: Jazz Advance
*UYA: 1994-10-16 Elbow Movement (wav)
*Various artists: Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues (A Musical Journey) (disc 4)
*Various artists: Body and Soul (CDR compilation)
*Weather Report: Live in Tokyo (side 4)
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Ed.) (disc 9)

Reading List, Week of 2026-04-05

Reading List 2026-04-06:

*Ferrante, Elena. Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (transl. Ann Goldstein) (started)
*Yoakum, Jim. The (Non-Inflatable) Monty Python TV Companion (started)
*Vaughan, Brian K., et al. Y: The Last Man (Deluxe ed., Book 4) (reread/started/finished)
*Vaughan, Brian K., et al. Y: The Last Man (Deluxe ed., Book 5) (reread/started/finished)
*Ferrante, Elena. The Story of a New Name (transl. Ann Goldstein) (finished)
*Vaughan, Brian K., et al. Y: The Last Man (Deluxe ed., Book 3) (reread/finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: "There Is a Heppy Lend--Fur, Fur Awa-a-ay": 1925-1926 (in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream (Arden 3rd series, ed. Sukanta Chaudhuri) (reread/in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-03-29

 

For me, Curtis Mayfield's solo work, as interesting as it is, can't hold a candle to the music he produced with the Impressions... the writing is better (he never equaled songs as powerful as "They Don't Know," "We're a Winner," or "I'm Loving Nothing," with the possible exception of "Move On Up" from Curtis), the blend of voices is more interesting, Mayfield's guitar work is stronger and subtler, plus there's the orchestrations of Johnny Pate, adding texture, acting almost as a fourth voice... I've been enjoying working my way through a lot of live Art Ensemble of Chicago sets... very open-ended, with melodies as signposts along the way, or springboards for nuanced improvisations... 

Playlist 2026-03-30:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1977-07-26 NYC (CDR)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1987-03-06 Cambridge MA (CDR)
*Anthony Braxton: Creative Music Orchestra "Comp. 25" (selections)
*Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Istanbul) 1996 (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium X (disc 5)
*Daniel Carter: Makeshift Spirituals, Vol. 1
*Nels Cline: Dirty Baby (disc 2)
*Nels Cline Singers: Draw Breath
*Miles Davis: Someday My Prince Will Come (side 1)
*Miles Davis: The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 (disc 6) "Directions"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Masterpieces by Ellington (side 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: Copenhagen 1964
*Duke Ellington: Yale Concert
*Duke Ellington: The Private Collection, Vol. 5: The Suites
*Marvin Gaye: What's Going On (50th Anniversary) (sides 1, 2)
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-18 Munich (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-03-16 Long Island, NY (CDR) (disc 3)
*Grateful Dead: 1973-09-11 Williamsburg VA (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 19 (1973-10-19 Oklahoma City OK) "Dark Star > Mind Left Body Jam"
*Craig Harris: Black Bone (side 1)
*Heldon: Electronique Guerilla
*Julius Hemphill: Dogon A.D.
*Julius Hemphill: The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony (disc 7)
*Impressions: This Is My Country
*Impressions: The Young Mods' Forgotten Story 
*Allen Lowe: Jews and Roots: An Avant-Garde of Our Own (disc 1)
*Magda Mayas' Filamental: Murmur
*Maurice McIntyre: Humility in the Light of the Creator (side 1)
*Thelonious Monk: The Complete Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection (disc 2)
*New Ting: 2026-03-23 "Red Fire Extinguishers on Parade" (wav)
*Sonny Rollins Quintet: Rollins Plays for Bird (side 1)
*Fie Schouten: Open Space
*Sparks: Balls (sides 1, 2, 3)
*Sun Ra and His Astro Ihnfinity Arkestra: The Intergalactic Thing (side 3)
*Sun Ra and His Astro Infinity Arkestra: My Brother the Wind Vol. 1
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-27 Detroit (CDR) (disc 2)
*Sun Ra Arkestra under the Direction of Marshall Allen: Lights on a Satellite (side 1)
*Gebhard Ullmann/Basement Research: Impromptus and Other Short Works
*UYA: 1994-10-15 Loud Connection (wav)
*Various artists: Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues (A Musical Journey) (disc 3) 

Reading List, Week of 2026-03-29

Reading List 2026-03-30:

*Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream (Arden 3rd series, ed. Sukanta Chaudhuri) (reread/started)
*Vaughan, Brian K., et al. Y: The Last Man (Deluxe ed., Book 3) (reread/started)
*Vaughan, Brian K., et al. Y: The Last Man (Deluxe ed., Book 1) (reread/started/finished)
*Vaughan, Brian K., et al. Y: The Last Man (Deluxe ed., Book 2) (reread/started/finished)
*Ovid. Metamorphoses (transl. A.D. Melville) (finished)
*Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra (Arden 2nd series, ed. M.R. Ridley) (reread/finished)
*Ferrante, Elena. The Story of a New Name (transl. Ann Goldstein) (in progress)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: "There Is a Heppy Lend--Fur, Fur Awa-a-ay": 1925-1926 (in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-03-22

 

More of same... but it's such good stuff!... After hearing Charles Mingus's "Cumbia and Jazz Fusion" on In Argentina,  I went back to the original version and was blown away all over again... this is my absolute favorite of late-period Mingus... its cinematic sweep and grandeur are unparalleled in his work, plus it swings deeply, Ellingtoniangly... Speaking of Ellington, In the Uncommon Market is a great Pablo compilation of '60s live material... And Sun Ra continues to rock my boat... in the early recordings, I find myself drawn to his marvelous piano playing throughout all the solos... he's doing way more than comping... it's just mesmerizing...

Playlist 2026-03-23:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1995-10 Umea, Sweden (CDR)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1998-08-14 Oakland CA (CDR)
*B-52s: Mesopotamia
*Tim Berne's Snakeoil: You've Been Watching Me "Small World in a Small Town"
*Anthony Braxton: For Trio (side 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (England) 1985 (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Istanbul) 1996 (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium R: Composition 162 - An Opera in Four Acts/Shala Fears for the Poor (disc 4)
*Nels Cline: The Inkling
*Nels Cline: Dirty Baby (disc 1)
*John Coltrane: The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman (side 1)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Such Sweet Thunder (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: In the Uncommon Market
*Jimmy Ghaphery/Sam Byrd: 2026-02-14 Richmond (wav)
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-07 Wigan, England (CDR) "The Other One"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-06-30 Universal City CA (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-08-01 Jersey City NJ (CDR) (disc 2) "Dark Star"
*Guru Guru: UFO
*Julius Hemphill: The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony (disc 6)
*Joe Henderson: 1975-12-19 San Francisco (CDR) (disc 2)
*Impressions: The Fabulous Impressions
*Impressions: We're a Winner
*Ingrid Laubrock: Serpentines
*Charles Mingus: Cumbia Jazz Fusion (side 1)
*Roscoe Mitchell: Roscoe Mitchell and the Sound and Space Ensembles (side 1)
*Thelonious Monk: The Complete Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection (disc 1) 
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 8)
*Larry Ochs/Joe Morris/Charles Downs: Every Day → All The Way
*Evan Parker/Keith Rowe/Barry Guy/Eddie Prévost: Supersession
*Tomeka Reid/Kyoko Kitamura/Taylor Ho Bynum/Joe Morris: Geometry of Phenomena
*Sonny Rollins: Way Out West Plus
*Keith Rowe: The Room
*Sonny Stitt/Bud Powell/J.J. Johnson: Sonny Stitt Bud Powell J.J. Johnson
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Supersonic Jazz (21st Century Expanded Ed.) (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Secrets of the Sun (side 2)
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: When Angels Speak of Love (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Other Planes of There "Other Planes of There"
*Sun Ra: Heliocentric Worlds Vol. 3: The Lost Tapes
*Sun Ra and His Astro-Infinity Arkestra: Continuation (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Inter-Galactic Research Arkestra: Nuits de la Fondation Maeght (side 12)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-27 Detroit (CDR) (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: Somewhere Else
*Sun Ra: Other Shades (CDR compilation)
*Cecil Taylor: All the Notes (DVD)
*UYA: 1994-10-13 Hey, Turn That Fan Off, Will Ya? (wav)
*Various artists: Doob Doob O'Rama: Filmsongs from Bollywood
*Baby Face Willette: Face to Face
*Stevie Wonder and Wonderlove: 1973-03-04 Berkeley CA (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Ed.) (discs 7, 8)

Reading List, Week of 2026-03-22

Reading List 2026-03-23:

*Ferrante, Elena. The Story of a New Name (transl. Ann Goldstein) (started)
*Ferrante, Elena. My Brilliant Friend (transl. Ann Goldstein) (started/finished)
*Leonard, Elmore. Forty Lashes Less One (started/finished)
*Lock, Graham. "Sun Ra: The Mysteries of Mr. Ra" and "John Gilmore: Big John's Special," in Chasing the Vibration (reread/started/finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: "There Is a Heppy Lend--Fur, Fur Awa-a-ay": 1925-1926 (in progress)
*Ovid. Metamorphoses (transl. A.D. Melville) (in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra (Arden 2nd series, ed. M.R. Ridley) (reread/in progress)
 

Brody on Sun Ra: Catching Up

His philosophy was a vision of progress--of a future, inspired by black American culture, that would be as glorious in its own way as the one promised by the technological advances of a segregated American society. Ra affirmed that the musical past of jazz was part of the avant-garde, so far ahead of its time that he and his musicians were still struggling to catch up with it. (Richard Brody, "The Sun Ra Centanary," New Yorker, 2014-05-22)

 

Playlist, Week of 2026-03-15

 

In addition to my weekly forays in the worlds of Sun Ra, Duke Ellington, and "Dark Star," this has been a week of exciting electric guitar... For reasons unknown, Nels Cline and Gregg Bendian's revisioning of John Coltrane and Rashied Ali's Interstellar Space had eluded me... whoa, it's incredible... I am slowly exposing myself to more of Otomo Yoshihide's exploratory guitar work... it's particularly strong on his big band album Stone Stone Stone... In my journeys through the UYA archives, the standout aspect for me has been the outstanding sonic explosions of Rodger Coleman's guitar solos... like throwing James Blood Ulmer, Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, and Thurston Moore in a blender... great stuff...

Playlist 2026-03-16:

*And Big Band: 2026-03-01 Chapel Hill NC (wav)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1988-08-31 Chicago (CDR)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1995-01-08 Oakland CA (CDR)
*Anthony Braxton: Octet (New York) 1995
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium X (disc 4)
*Nels Cline: Destroy All Nels Cline
*Nels Cline/Gregg Bendian: Interstellar Space Revisited
*Rodger Coleman/Sam Byrd: Imaginary Vinyl "Face A"
*Kris Davis/Lutosławski Quartet: The Solastalgia Suite
*Miles Davis: In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete (disc 3)
*Deepstaria Enigmatica: The Eternal Now is the Heart of a New Tomorrow
*Duke Ellington: The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (disc 5)
*Duke Ellington Octet: Live at the Rainbow Grill
*Duke Ellington Small Bands: The Intimacy of the Blues
*Globe Unity Orchestra and Guests: Baden-Baden '75
*Grateful Dead: 1973-03-16 Long Island, NY (CDR) (disc 2)
*Grateful Dead: 1973-06-10 Washington DC (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-06-24 Portland OR (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star > Eyes of the World"
*Heldon: Third ("It's Always Rock'n'Roll") (disc 1)
*Joe Henderson: 1975-12-19 San Francisco (CDR) (disc 1)
*Impressions: People Get Ready
*Fela Kuti: Roforofo Fight
*Charles Mingus: Mingus in Argentina: The Buenos Aires Concerts (disc 1)
*New Ting: 2026-03-09 Partially parking (wav)
*Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Quintet: Hat and Beard
*Otomo Yoshihide Special Big Band: Stone Stone Stone
*Eddie Prévost et al.: The Secret Handshake With Danger, Vol. 1
*Sergei Rachmaninov: Rachmaninov Plays Chopin
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Visits Planet Earth
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: Interstellar Low Ways
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: Fate in a Pleasant Mood
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: When Sun Comes Out
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-26 Detroit (CDR) (disc 3)
*Henry Threadgill: Double Up, Plays Double Up Plus "Game Is Up"
*UYA: 1994-08-30 Steamin' Demons (wav)
*UYA: 1994-09-07 Laundry Bar Billy (wav)
*UYA: 1994-09-13 Jiggle Tooth (wav)
*Baby Face Willette: Stop and Listen

Reading List, Week of 2026-03-15

Reading List 2026-03-16:

*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: "There Is a Heppy Lend--Fur, Fur Awa-a-ay": 1925-1926 (started)
*Ovid. Metamorphoses (transl. A.D. Melville) (started)
*Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra (Arden 2nd series, ed. M.R. Ridley) (reread/started)
*Leonard, Elmore. Hombre (started/finished)
*Leonard, Elmore. Valdez Is Coming (started/finished)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: Shed a Soft Mongolian Tear: The Komplete Kat Komics, Vol. 9: 1924 (finished)
*Pynchon, Thomas. Shadow Ticket (reread/finished)
*Shakespeare, William. Measure for Measure (Arden 3rd series, ed. A.R. Braunmuller and Robert N. Watson) (reread/finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-03-08

 Piano Recital is one of my favorite Sun Ra solo piano albums... especially his swinging takes on "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Penthouse Serenade"... some critics have complained about the sound, but it sounds fine to me... I've always had a high tolerance for less-than-stellar sound quality... with Ra, of course, it's all stellar.... I love the different arrangement of "This Whole World" on Spring... that whole album is really special, notably for Marilyn Rovell's vocals... 

Playlist 2026-03-09:

*[Ahmed]: Giant Beauty (disc 3)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1987-03-07 Montreal (CDR)
*Beatles: The Beatles' Second Album (mono 2024) (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Beatles for Sale (2009 stereo remaster) (side 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Four Compositions (Quartet) 1995
*Anthony Braxton and the Wesleyan Tri-Centric Orchestra: 2011-04-25 Middletown, CT (CDR) (disc 1)
*Gerald Cleaver & Violet Hour: Live At Firehouse 12
*Gerald Cleaver/Brandon Lopez/Hprizm: In the Wilderness
*John Coltrane: The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings (disc 6)
*Kris Davis/Lutosławski Quartet: The Solastalgia Suite
*Jackie DeShannon: The Complete Singles, Vol. 1 (1960-1963) (selections)
*Duke Ellington: The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (disc 6)
*Duke Ellington: Anatomy of a Murder
*Duke Ellington: Paris, March 1964
*Duke Ellington: In the Uncommon Market
*Famous Actors from Out of Town: FA3574
*Globe Unity Orchestra and Guests: Baden-Baden '75
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 4 (1970-02-13 Fillmore East) (disc 1) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-03-16 Long Island, NY (CDR) (disc 1)
*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks Vol. 32 (1973-03-24 Philadelphia) (disc 3) "Jam > Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks Vol. 16 (1973-03-28 Springfield, MA) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grant Green: Grant's First Stand
*Gulph of Berlin: Gulph of Berlin
*Mary Halvorson: About Ghosts
*Impressions: Keep On Pushing
*Insect Life: Insect Life
*Jefferson Pilot: Spirit of '77
*George Lewis: Homage to Charles Parker
*Curtis Mayfield: Curtis/Live!
*Thelonious Monk: The Complete Blue Note Recordings (disc 2)
*Jason Moran: Facing Left
*New Ting: 2026-02-23 "My Dear What Is That Plant?" (wav)
*Larry Ochs/Nels Cline/Gerald Cleaver: What Is To Be Done "Outcries Rousing"
*Okuden: Every Dog Has Its Day but It Doesn't Matter because Fat Cat Is Getting Fatter (disc 2)
*Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Orchestra: Out to Lunch
*Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Quintet: Tails Out
*Spring: Spring
*Sun Ra: Pathways to Unknown Worlds (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra: Piano Recital, Teatro La Fenice, Venezia
*Sun Ra: Sleeping Beauty (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Strange Celestial Road (side 2)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-26 Detroit (CDR) (disc 2)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Prophet
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Hours After
*UYA: 1994-08-23 A Distinct Mood for the Hearer (wav)
*Various artists: Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues (A Musical Journey) (disc 4)
*XTC: Drums and Wires (Surround Sound Series) (disc 1)

Reading List, Week of 2026-03-08

Reading List 2026-03-09:

*Stein, Gertrude. The Making of Americans (finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: Shed a Soft Mongolian Tear: The Komplete Kat Komics, Vol. 9: 1924 (in progress)
*Pynchon, Thomas. Shadow Ticket (reread/in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. Measure for Measure (Arden 3rd series, ed. A.R. Braunmuller and Robert N. Watson) (reread/in progress)
 

Jefferson Pilot: Spirit of '77

 

Jefferson Pilot's newest EP, Spirit of '77, is a melancholy, beautiful meditation on absence and return--or is it the hopeful rejuvenation of a lost love? Spirit of '77 is a three-part suite similar in tone and spirit to 2023's Sad Magazine as well as the imaginary sound explorations of "Slow Divide" and "Chimney Line (abridged)" on 2021's The Hopeless News. The mournful Klaxon horn in "Returned from Space" is echoed by the plaintive sax sounds in "Reentry/Girl on a Swing." The mood captures the feeling of awakening from a dream, as details slip away, leaving  only an aurally imprinted sense of loss. Despite the positive soulfulness of the harmony vocals singing "Baby I'm back," in the overall sonic landscape of the suite, things are ambiguous, and questions are unanswered: Has the return from space actually occurred? Has he really been gone, or (as he thought) was he only dreaming? Have you seen my blazer? 

Sun Ra's Big Band

Despite the expertise of other contemporary big bands, it is in hearing the most avant garde of them all, the Arkestra, play Prelude To A Kiss or Blue Lou, that the listener feels what it must have been like to hear, say, Duke Ellington circa 1940, and when that same quality--the freedom of texture and improvisation combined with the ability to swing--is heard here immediately afterwards on Lights On A Satellite, the largeness of the Arkestra's accomplishment is made clear. (David Lee, "Notes from the Basement," Coda May/June 1994, issue 255)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-03-01

I have really been enjoying the Music on Vinyl reissue of Hatfield and the North's classic album The Rotter's Club, certainly one of my favorite records of all time... thanks forever, Tom, for turning me on to this way back when... this new pressing is crystal clear, really putting the original Virgin vinyl to shame... also enjoyable is Sinclair and the South, Hatfield bassist Richard Sinclair's curated recreation of the album using fan-created selections... thanks, Jeff, for that gift!... my favorite tracks are the ones that don't try to exactly copy the instrumentation or arrangements of the original... the absolute best is Raymond Benson's solo piano version of "Fitter Stoke Has a Bath"... we certainly enjoyed it... In other listening, though, I am finding it hard to pull myself away from Sun Ra... one thing leads to another, and it's all so damn good... 

Playlist 2026-03-02:

*[Ahmed]: Sama'a [Audition] "Isma'a [Listen]"
*AMM: Ammmusic "After Rapidly Circling the Plaza"
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1985-03-29 Cambridge MA (CDR) (discs 1, 2)
*Beach Boys: We Gotta Groove: The Brother Studio Years (discs 1, 2, 3) (selections)
*Tim Berne's Snakeoil: Incidentals "Sideshow"
*Anthony Braxton: Tentet (New York) 1995
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium X (disc 3)
*Deerhoof: Miracle-Level
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: The Private Collection, Vol. 10: Studio Sessions
*Exploding Star Orchestra: Stars Have Shapes "Three Blocks of Light"
*Gang of Four: Songs of the Free (side 1)
*Jimmy Ghaphery/Sam Byrd: 2026-02-14 Richmond (wav)
*Globe Unity: Jahrmarkt/Local Fair
*Grateful Dead: 1973-03-16 Long Island, NY (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-03-21 Utica, NY (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Jefferson Pilot: Spirit of '77
*Layers of Memory: 2019-12-07 RVA (wav)"Improvisation No. 2"
*Thelonious Monk: Bremen 1965 (discs 1, 2)
*Amina Claudine Myers: Solace of the Mind
*New Ting: 2025-12-01 "Gettin' with the Modern Boys" (wav)
*New Ting: 2026-02-23 "My Dear What Is That Plant?" (wav)
*Eddie Prévost et al.: The Secret Handshake With Danger, Vol. 2
*Roxy Music: Siren (side 2)
*Ravi Shankar: Live At Monterey 1967 "Raga Todi, Rupak Tal"
*Soft Machine: 1967-10 Paris (CDR)
*Sparks: In Outer Space (sides 1, 2)
*Bruce Springsteen: The Ties That Bind: The River Collection (disc 4)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Supersonic Jazz (21st Century Expanded Ed.) (disc 2)
*Sun Ra: Sound Sun Pleasure
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Other Planes of There "Other Planes of There"
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: When Angels Speak of Love (side 1)
*Sun Ra: Spaceways (1968 film soundtrack)
*Sun Ra: Space Probe
*Sun Ra: Concert for the Comet Kohoutek
*Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Myth Science Arkestra: 1975-01-30 Cleveland (CDR)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Lost Arkestra, Pt. 1
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Reflections in Blue
*Sun Ra: Stray Voltage (disc 2)
*Cecil Taylor Quintet: 1965-07-02 Newport (CDR) "Tales (8 Whisps)"
*Cecil Taylor Workshop Ensemble: Legba Crossing
*Various artists: The Bottle Tapes: Selections from the Empty Bottle Jazz and Improvised Music Series 1996-2005 (discs 4, 5, 6)
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Ed.) (disc 2) 
 

Reading List, Week of 2026-03-01

Reading List 2026-03-02:

*Pynchon, Thomas. Shadow Ticket (reread/started)
*Leonard, Elmore. Last Stand at Saber River (started/finished)
*Tosches, Nick. Trinities (finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: Shed a Soft Mongolian Tear: The Komplete Kat Komics, Vol. 9: 1924 (in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. Measure for Measure (Arden 3rd series, ed. A.R. Braunmuller and Robert N. Watson) (reread/in progress)
*Stein, Gertrude. The Making of Americans (in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-02-22

 

I have really been enjoying Rodger Coleman's cassette release Journey to Brno... it's a compilation of various solo electronic pieces he put together from 2018 to 2024... Moog, other synthesizer sounds, lots of electronic settings I can't begin to understand, in a pleasing sonic brew... similar in many ways to the aural landscapes he'd come up with for many of our duo recordings... hearing it makes me itch to play... these are beautiful sounds, electronics with the human touch of selection and a sense of dynamics and structure... I really enjoyed the PBS documentary Sun Ra: Do the Impossible (streaming here), even though I am not the intended audience...  Not as much Duke Ellington this week, but lots of Ra... and man A Drum Is a Woman continues to intrigue me... 

Playlist 2026-02-23:

*Art Ensemble of Chicago: People in Sorrow (sides 1, 2)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1980-10-05 Atlanta (CDR) (disc 1) "Moornoats"
*B-52s: Whammy!
*Beach Boys: We Gotta Groove: The Brother Studio Years (discs 1, 2, 3) (selections)
*Beatles: Help! (2009 mono remaster)
*Beatles: Mono Masters (disc 2)
*Tim Berne's Snakeoil: Shadow Man "Cornered (Duck)"
*Tim Berne's Snakeoil: Incidentals "Sideshow"
*Anthony Braxton: This Time… (side 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium X (disc 2)
*Clifford Brown/Max Roach: Clifford Brown and Max Roach
*Rodger Coleman: Journey to Brno (cassette) (sides A, B)
*Miles Davis: The Complete On the Corner Sessions (disc 1) "On the Corner (Unedited Master)"
*Death Grips: The Money Store
*Deerhoof: Miracle-Level (sides 1, 2)
*Walt Dickerson Quartet: Impressions of A Patch of Blue
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Private Collection, Vol. 9: Studio Sessions New York 1968
*Grateful Dead: 1969-12-04 San Francisco (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-02-22 Champaign-Urbana, IL (CDR) (disc 2) "Dark Star > Eyes of the World"
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 28 (1973-02-26 Salt Lake City) "Dark Star"
*Gulph of Berlin: Gulph of Berlin
*Hatfield and the North: The Rotters' Club (50th Anniversary Ed.) (sides 1, 4)
*Peter Kowald: 1981-12-03 Köln (CDR)
*Brandon Lopez: Nada Sagrada
*Thomas Morgan: Around You Is a Forest
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 7)
*New Ting: 2026-02-16 "Apparently Prevalent Barnyard" (wav)
*Okuden: Every Dog Has Its Day but It Doesn't Matter because Fat Cat Is Getting Fatter (disc 1)
*Eddie Prévost et al.: The Secret Handshake With Danger, Vol. 1
*Sergei Rachmaninov: David Helfgott Plays Rachmaninov
*Tomeka Reid Quartet: Dance! Skip! Hop!
*Sensational Guitars of Dan & Dale: Batman and Robin
*Sonny Sharrock: Black Woman
*Sinclair and the South: The Rotters' Club (50th Anniversary)
*Sun Ra: Jazz by Sun Ra, Vol. 1 [Sun Song] (side 2)
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: When Sun Comes Out (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Secrets of the Sun "Flight to Mars"
*Sun Ra and His Astro Ihnfinity Arkestra: The Intergalactic Thing (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Discipline 27-II
*Sun Ra: Crystal Spears (Remastered)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Some Blues But Not the Kind That's Blue
*Sun Ra: Strange Celestial Road (side 2)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-26 Detroit (CDR) (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: Stray Voltage (disc 1)
*Craig Taborn: Dream Archives
*UYA: Improvisations 4 (1990-1992) (CDR compilation) "Black Drone"
*UYA: 1994-07-21 Want a Bag? (wav)
*UYA: 1994-07-25/26 The Dancing Shadow of Your Smell (wav)
*Wrens: Half of What You See
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Ed.) (disc 1)

Reading List, Week of 2026-02-22

Reading List 2026-02-23:

*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: Shed a Soft Mongolian Tear: The Komplete Kat Komics, Vol. 9: 1924 (started)
*Shakespeare, William. Measure for Measure (Arden 3rd series, ed. A.R. Braunmuller and Robert N. Watson) (reread/started)
*Tosches, Nick. Trinities (started)
*Garber, Marjorie. “The Winter's Tale” in Shakespeare After All (reread/started/finished)
*Martin, George R.R. and Raya Golden. Starport (started/finished)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: Inna Yott on the Muddy Geranium: The Komplete Kat Komics, Vol. 8: 1923 (finished)
*Shakespeare, William. The Winter's Tale (Arden 3rd series, ed. John Pitcher) (reread/finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Stein, Gertrude. The Making of Americans (in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-02-15

The Ellington Era is an excellent three-record compilation of Duke Ellington's work on Columbia (and Okeh) that Columbia never deemed fit to release on CD, instead scattering its contents on various other compilations, some more obscure than others... lots of gold here, including the original 1937 versions of "Diminuendo in Blue" and "Crescendo in Blue," which are great even without the Paul Gonsalves tenor sax interlude added for Newport...  Wrapping up 1972 for "Dark Star," on to 1973... the two greatest years for that mammoth space ditty... I love the Sun Ra rehearsal recordings on releases like The Intergalactic Thing... it still amazes me how many of his compositions were diligently rehearsed that we rarely got to hear... 

Playlist 2026-02-16:

*[Ahmed]: Wood Blues
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1980-10-05 Atlanta (CDR) (disc 1)
*Beach Boys: We Gotta Groove: The Brother Studio Years (discs 1, 2, 3)
*Beatles: Anthology 4 (disc 1)
*Booker T. & the MGs: Time Is Tight (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium X (disc 1)
*Circle: 1971-03-04 Hamburg (CDR) "There Is No Greater Love"
*Gerald Cleaver/Brandon Lopez/Hprizm: In the Wilderness
*Nat King Cole: Just One of Those Things (and More)
*Kris Davis/Lutosławski Quartet: The Solastalgia Suite
*Deepstaria Enigmatica: The Eternal Now is the Heart of a New Tomorrow
*Walt Dickerson Quartet: Impressions of A Patch of Blue
*Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra: The Ellington Era, Vol. 1: 1927-1940 (sides 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: The Private Collection, Vol. 7: Studio Sessions
*Duke Ellington: The Private Collection, Vol. 8: Studio Sessions
*Grateful Dead: Listen to the River: St. Louis '71 '72 '73 (disc 10)
*Grateful Dead: 1972-11-26 San Antonio (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-12-11 Winterland, SF (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-12-15 Long Beach, CA (CDR) "Jam > Dark Star"
*Hatfield and the North: The Rotters' Club (50th Anniversary Ed.) (side 2)
*Heldon: "Allez-Téia"
*Joe Henderson: Mode for Joe
*Bobby Hutcherson: Oblique
*Joëlle Léandre/Jérôme Bourdellon: Evidence
*Charles Mingus: Mingus in Argentina: The Buenos Aires Concerts (disc 2)
*New Ting: 2026-01-19 "According" (wav)
*Rova Saxophone Quartet/Kyle Bruckmann/Henry Kaiser: Steve Lacy's Saxophone Special Revisited
*Wayne Shorter: The All Seeing Eye
*Sinclair and the South: The Rotters' Club (50th Anniversary)
*Sparks: Live at the Record Plant 1974 (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Astro Ihnfinity Arkestra: The Intergalactic Thing (side 1)
*Sun Ra: The Antique Blacks "The Antique Blacks Suite"
*Sun Ra: The Soul Vibrations of Man (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra: Strange Celestial Road (side 1)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: Beyond the Purple Star Zone
*Craig Taborn: Dream Archives
*Cecil Taylor Feel Trio: Two Ts for a Lovely T (disc 3)
*Ben Webster: King of the Tenors
*Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Ed.) (discs 3, 4, 5, 6)
*John Zorn/Brian Marsella Trio: Calculus "The Ghost of Departed Quantities"